Marrying my high school bully

Melissa

‘I’ve found your late mother’s lawyer. I can send you his address if you want it.’

The words of the private investigator I hired echoed in my ears as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. My body shuddered with a feeling akin to fear as I contemplated either going ahead to visit him or looking for another lawyer to draw up the documents concerning my late mother’s company.

The urge to get back my company enveloped me and any time I remembered that Leonardo was still running the company as he wanted, I became overcome with anger.

I reached for my phone after making a decision. I was the one who started this, I’d surely put an end to it.

With my fingers trembling in slight trepidation, I dialed the P. I.’s number and listened to it ring. He picked up the phone before the second ring, his voice as professional as usual.

“Good morning, Miss Rogers. How are you today?” He drawled formally.

Bile rose through my throat, but I shut my eyes and swallowed it. “I’m fine.” I paused and took a deep breath. “There’s a reason I called.”

“I’m listening,” He urged me on.

“I want the lawyer’s address, I have to go and visit him,” I informed him.

“That won’t be a problem, Miss Rogers. Once we are done with this conversation, I’ll send you the address.” He stated and gladness filled my heart immediately.

I thanked him profusely and ended the call. Just like he said, my phone chimed with a notification sound and when I checked, it was the address of Mr Manor, mom’s lawyer.

I snatched my bag from the vanity table and traipsed out of my condo without thinking twice. Mr Manor’s place was quite a distance and I’d have to drive like I was in a race if I wanted to make it back home today.

No one knew about my plan to visit him, not even my father. If I’d told him, he’d interfere with the whole process and this was what I wanted to clear between the lawyer and myself.

My phone rang loudly with an unknown number glaring on the screen. I swiped to the right and then put it on a loudspeaker. “Good morning. Who am I unto?”

Silence ensued, then a deep sigh. “So I had to use a different number to reach you, right?” Dexter’s voice came through, his deep voice igniting the quenched flames within me.

Even though my stomach had turned jelly and my throat was clogged with emotions, I wouldn’t let him know how much he affected me. “I blacklisted your number so that you wouldn’t have to call me again. I thought you’d have gotten the memo by now.” I managed to sound displeased, even though there was a tingling sensation in my chest all because he called.

“I got the memo, but I’m not the kind of person to give up.” He challenged and I scoffed.

“Typical,” I muttered under my breath and slowed down because of the traffic. “What do you want?”

“You. Melissa, I want you and I’d have you no matter how much you run away.” He said with so much arrogance I felt like hurling a brick at his head.

Heat unfurled in my core because no matter how much I tried to deny how I felt, I knew that with just one look at him, I’d be throwing myself his way and that’s why I decided to stay away, at least until I was done with what I came for.

“Stop dreaming, Dexter.” My eyes darted to the traffic light as the cars started to roll down the road. “Green says go, Dexter, which means that I’m off.” I dropped the call without waiting for a response and turned off my phone.

The last thing I wanted was to be distracted and with Dexter whose mere image makes my insides melt like butter on a heated pot, I’d lose focus.

Just like the P. I described in the message, a bungalow with cracked walls stood in front of me, and the painting faded. The iron doors looked old and rusty and I wondered if I’d find anyone inside.

I grabbed my bag and rechecked for the pepper spray I put inside. In this kind of situation, one could never be too careful.

My legs ached due to the effect of sitting in one position for a few hours, but I ignored it and headed for the shabby-looking building. I knocked on the door and as expected, I got no response except for a squeaky sound I heard, coming from within the house.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

I straightened my spine and listened intently for any other noise until I heard a manly yell behind me.

Within a fleeting second, I dug into my bag and produced the pepper spray without thinking. I spun around to meet a grey-haired man with wrinkles scattered all over his face and a huge stick in his hands.

The deadly scowl he flashed at me almost made me regret why I came here alone. Dexter would have liked to escort me here, but I didn’t dare to tell him after treating him like he didn’t matter.

“Who are you?” His croaky voice sent chills down my spine, and I began to wonder if the private investigator hadn’t made a mistake with the address because he certainly didn’t look like a lawyer.

If I was going to have it easy and achieve my aim with this man, then I’d have to tell him the truth.

Amidst the knot that furled at the pit of my stomach, I still managed to put up a confident front. “I’m Lorraine Melissa Hills, the daughter of Sarah Hills.”

His eyes lit up with realization then he moved away from me, dropping the stick in his hands and shaking his head vehemently.

“No!” He took another step backward with a shudder, his refusal leaving me confused. “No!” He repeated.

“What’s the matter, Mr Manor?” I tried to sound calm even though my heart was already in my mouth.

“It can’t be you. Mr Leonardo told me that you were dead and I had to hand over the documents to him.” He sobbed and I froze, the revelation hitting me hard.

Leonardo came to him?

How was that even possible? When did that happen?

That man was more sneaky than I thought and if Mr Manor handed over the papers to him, then it had to be under coercion because Leonardo was never diplomatic about anything.

I returned the pepper spray to my bag while thinking of how to convince him that I never died. “Sir, Leonardo lied to you. I don’t know how he got you to hand the papers over to him but I’ll prove to you that I didn’t die.”

Tears cascaded down his cheeks as he sank onto the ground, palming his head. Something bad must have happened for him to be this broken and I hoped that it wasn’t what I was thinking.

“That bastard… That bastard killed my family.” He forced out of his trembling lips and I stilled, my chest tightening with indignation.